Zathura: A Space Adventure/Plot
The plot of "Zathura: A Space Adventure" (also known simply as "Zathura" ). Plot Walter Browning and his younger brother Danny Browning do not get along with each other or their older sister, Lisa Browning. While their divorced father is away at work and Lisa, whom he left in charge, is napping, Danny discovers an old space-themed board game called "Zathura: A Space Adventure" in the basement. He convinces Walter to play the game with him, the goal of which is to become the first player to reach the final space on the board. Each turn, a player turns a key and presses a button, causing the board to move the player's piece a random number of spaces and spit out an event card. When Danny's first turn causes a meteor shower inside the living room, Walter and Danny realize playing the game has altered reality. The boys discover their father's house is floating in space. Lisa, unaware of the situation, wakes up and begins preparing for her date that evening, but is frozen stiff when another card turns the bathroom into a cryonic chamber. Walter concludes the only way to end the game and return everything to normal is to win the game. As they continue to play, Walter and Danny must overcome the dangers presented by the game cards, including the appearance of a defective robot and an attack on the house by a race of reptilian aliens called Zorgons. Another of Danny's turns produces The Astronaut, who methodically eliminates the house's heat sources and lures the Zorgons' ship away by ejecting the boys' father's couch after setting it on fire. Walter asks the astronaut to leave, but Danny chooses to let him stay. Growing increasingly agitated, Walter accuses Danny of cheating by moving his piece prematurely; when Walter tries to move the piece back and takes his next turn, the game accuses Walter of cheating and ejects him from the house into the vacuum of space, but the astronaut retrieves him. On Walter's next turn, he receives a card that allows him to make a wish. The astronaut warns Walter not to make a wish out of anger. Fearing the worst, he is relieved to discover that Walter wished merely for an autographed football. He explains that he and his brother had played the game fifteen years before, and he wished his brother away, causing him to be stuck in the game without a second player. Lisa awakens from her stasis, and still oblivious to the situation, turns up the heat. This causes the Zorgons to return and anchor their ships to the house. Lisa finally discovers their predicament, and the four hide upstairs, but realize they left the game behind. The astronaut uses the house's dumbwaiter to lower Danny to retrieve the game. Danny finds the game aboard one of the Zorgon ships, but is seen by the Zorgons. Walter uses a "Reprogram" card he drew earlier to fix the malfunctioning robot, who attacks the Zorgons instead, and the aliens retreat. Walter receives another wish card; he uses it to bring back the astronaut's brother, causing a doppelgänger of Danny to appear. The astronaut reveals he is actually Walter, and commends his younger self for making a better choice than he did 15 years ago of his timeline, and the astronaut and the alternate Danny disappear. The Zorgons return to the house with a large fleet, intent on destroying it. Danny makes a final move, landing on Zathura, and wins, creating a black hole that sucks up the Zorgon fleet and the house. The siblings awaken in the house as it was before the brothers started the game, just as their father arrives home. Their bond renewed, and after they leave with their mother, Danny's bicycle, which had been orbiting their house, falls from the sky. Category:Plots